\documentclass[char]{castle}
\begin{document}

\name{\cOrotine{}}

\cenquote{``They were maps that lived, maps that one could study, frown over, and add to; maps, in short, that really meant something.''}{--  Gerald Durrell, \emph{My Family and Other Animals} }

Two hundred years is a long time. Time enough for gears to grind down (you've had trouble moving your left arm since that cog in your shoulder lost traction a decade ago). Time enough for seals to lose their effectiveness (your secondary boiler has been losing power for almost a century). Time for circuits to short (your electrical systems have failed almost entirely). Time for families to lose contact (you don't even know if any of your sisters still live). But if you are lucky, two hundred years might be just long enough to find a solution to all of the other problems.

You are \cOrotine{}, the Muse of Maps. One of nine clanks built by the great Van Rijn for the storm king. Your early decades were idyllic. You and your sisters created art and instructing those around you in the same. You were more than just clanks, you were an inspiration.

But then Van Rijn died, and with him the secrets to your construction and maintenance. First wear began to show, and then the sharks descended. Sparks from across Europa descending, trying to pry Van Rijn's secrets from your bodies under the guise of ``fixing'' you. Whether they ever truly intended to help or not isn't relevant the hellish sessions that they put you through only left you more worn than before. And so the years past until one day poor Liza failed to wake from a particularly bad session. Weeks crept by as the sparks tried desperately and without success to bring her back, but to no avail.

It was Artimo who finally spoke up about the worsening situation. If you stayed, you would only break faster. The muses would split up and go into hiding to avoid the fate that Liza has suffered. Each would continue to pursue her art, her reason for being. To teach, to create, to inspire. But you, \cOrotine{}, Muse of Maps and Discovery would have a graver task. You were tasked with finding a haven where your sisters may one day reunite, safe from the prying eyes of greedy sparks. Free to do as you were made to do, safe and together once again. That night the eight of you buried Liza's parts and crept out under the cover of darkness. That night, nearly eight score years ago, was that last time you saw any of your sisters.

So for over a century you wandered. Plying your trade. Exploring swamps and forests, cities and grasslands, looking for a new home without success. But at least during this time you did manage to do some good. After decades of observation you began to notice subtle patterns in the ebb and flow of politics. After some decades more, you learned how to manipulate them to slowly over the course of years exert steady influence on them, making the world a better place for you and your kind. Decreasing taxes on the arts, making them flow more freely. Centralization of society to spread your works widely. And discouraging funding for research to stymie those that would oppress you. For a while you thought that you had a solution to your longstanding problems, until you began to notice that others with competing views were exercising similar influence.

Of these hands at work you think you've been able to pick out two in particular that have bearing on your goals. You don't know their real identities, but you have come to know them by their actions. One the one hand, there's The Philistine. The two of you have been in direct opposition to each other for decades now. Another, who you've come to refer to as The Bureaucrat, seem to support you on research and centralization. Unfortunately, the many hands at play have made it difficult to make positive progress.

It was despair that finally drove you into the desert, searching for a, perhaps, more secluded location. The sand got into your gears, and joints, but you persevered, and miraculously, you found it. \cotl{}. A city of abandoned creations. Clanks, constructs, computational engines, roaming free from the sparks that created them. You were soon taken in and became a leader among the lost ones.

\cotl{} was centered around the \junk, a spark device which accumulated to it abandoned creations from around the world. You've seen it in operation. The erie glow as it draws power and the sudden sound as its findings are teleported to the entry pad. Though this device is crucial to your new home's creation and survival, you have always been afraid to see it in operation. You worry that one day you will see one of your sisters delivered up as rubble.

Unfortunately, things are not quite ready in \cotl{} to call your sisters home. For one you need some sparks, carefully selected to help repair those citizens to would fail without maintenance. Just be careful not to let the wrong people in. You have seen the greed of humans at play before. A second thing that you need is protection. Without that your location must stay hidden or you would surely fall to the swords of conquerors.

This is why you have been sent out on a mission. To find mechanics and to gather as a protector the greatest of all abandoned creations---Castle Heterodyne itself. Unfortunately, when you and your companion arrived, you found Mechanicsburg in disarray. A crashed airship had left the castle temporarily disabled causing vultures to descend upon it. Now you will have to deal with them as you attempt to bring the castle to your cause and shift the influence of politics. But it is not all bad, you did need some mechanics. Maybe someone will even be able to help repair your own failing systems. In exchange you could ply your trade. Mapping out the ever shifting corridors of Castle Heterodyne should prove an invigorating challenge.

One last thing to keep an eye out for: you've heard rumors of a device called the \memoryMacGuffin{} somewhere inside the castle. You hear that it has the power to help restore memories. You don't think you've lost any yet, but those systems are surely beginning to fail and without help you may soon lose yourself.

\begin{itemz}[Goals]
  \item Map the Castle.
  \item Bring the Castle to \cotl{}.
  \item Find people to help with repairs of \cotl{}'s residents, though be careful who you show the way in.
  \item Make the world safe again for your sisters.
  \item Obtain some much-needed repairs.
  \item Get the \memoryMacGuffin{}.
  \item Obtain [economy thing] for \cotl{}.
\end{itemz}

\TODO{Contacts}

\begin{contacts}
  \contact{\cBondAliasB{}} A human who spent some time in the \bCity{}. He wears glasses.
\end{contacts}

%IMMORTALS:
% Research -
% Centralization +
% LuxeryTaxes - -

\end{document}
